Most Massachusetts small businesses and nonprofits (including independent schools) will soon be explicitly mandated to provide the same leave benefits to fathers as they’re required to provide to mothers. The new law was signed on the last day of former Governor Patrick’s tenure in January of 2015. It revises the provisions of M.G.L. c. 149, §105D which had been in effect since 1972 and only explicitly mandated maternity leave, not paternity leave.Applicability – The new Parental Leave law applies to all Massachusetts employers having six (6) or more employees, except for nonprofits that are organized as fraternal associations or social clubs. Unlike the new Massachusetts Sick Leave Law (see blog posting below), the new Parental Leave Law is unclear on whether temporary and part-time employees count when considering the number of employees. However, only full-time employees who have worked for three consecutive months, or employees who have completed a company-imposed probationary period, are entitled to the parental leave.Effective Date– April 7, 2015Amount of Parental Leave – Each qualified employee must receive at least eight weeks leave for the purpose of “preparing for or participating in the birth or adoption of a child, and caring for a newborn or newly adopted child.” (quoted language from old MCAD guidelines). A “child” includes anyone under 18 being adopted or placed with a qualified employee (or under 23 if disabled). The eight weeks does not have to be paid leave unless the company has a policy providing for paid parental leave. Employers are also free to have policies giving employees more than eight weeks. If two parents work for the same employer, the employer can restrict their combined parental leave to eight weeks (or whatever greater amount is provided for in the employer’s policy).Advance Notice of Parental Leave – Employees seeking to use parental leave are required to give at least two (2) weeks’ notice prior to both the start and end of the intended parental leave, unlessthere arecircumstances “beyond the [employee’s] control” in which case the notice must be “as soon as practicable.” Workplace Notice of Law – An employer subject to this law must post in the workplace a notice of the how it is meeting the law’s requirements. Consequences if Employer Violates Law - An employee who believes his or her employer has not provided the mandated parental leave rights may bring a claim for discrimination to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) under M.G.L. c. 151B and if successful, recover actual damages, punitive damages and attorney fees. The minimum obligation an employer has toward a qualified employee is to keep in place his or her job (or a substantially similar one) while the employee is out on parental leave. However, that obligation would be lifted if economic or other operating conditions necessitated a general layoff of similarly situated employees during the parental leave. The MCAD will presumably issue updated regulations and guidelines on the new Parental Leave law to replace the now outdated ones that applied to “maternity leave.”Impact - Prior to this law taking effect, male employees of larger Massachusetts employers (i.e. those having fifty or more employees) could have taken a paternity leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of up to twelve (12) weeks. Additionally, some Massachusetts employers, in order to avoid potential discrimination claims, may already have policies in place stipulating that male employees are entitled to paternity benefits equal to the maternity benefits of female employees. It should be noted, however, that the new Massachusetts Parental Leave law clearly does change things for those small employers who did not previously provide for paternity benefits.What do you think of the new Massachusetts Parental Leave law? Is it fair or onerous to businesses? Does it provide employees with enough of a benefit? Feel free to comment below. Also feel free to call me at 617-872-8648 if you would like to discuss the specific impact of this law on your business, organization or school.